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Ferrari "Red" dominated
the evening in Shanghai with the illumination of the
Oriental Pearl Tower, the Chinese city's famous symbol,
as celebrations for the the 999th Chinese Ferrari
customer since the brand came to China concluded with a
multimedia show on the Pu Jiang river.
This is an important number: in China the number nine -
‘jiu’ – is a symbol for longevity and excellence. An
alliance between Ferrari and China, which officially
started just over five years ago and which has seen the
market become increasingly important for Ferrari with
300 cars sold in 2010 and an outlook of impressive
growth.
Celebrating Johnson Zhang, the 999th client, Ferrari CEO
Amedeo Felisa said: “For Ferrari, China represents the
present and the future. It is a great country where we
continue to invest. I’m convinced that in a couple of
years, we’ll reach sales of 500 cars per year, a number
equal to established European markets.”
The festivities started in the afternoon with a show of
more than 15 Ferraris in front of the Oriental Pearl
Tower and ended with a gala dinner, in the company of
Amedeo Felisa together with Ferrari Asia Pacific CEO
Edwin Fenech and numerous clients. Amongst them were
many young Ferrari owners under the age of 40: new
entrepreneurs who, as a symbol of their success, were
able to realise their aspiration of owning a dream car
that is the symbol of Italy itself: a Ferrari.
After Johnson Zhang symbolically turned the key of his
Ferrari 458 Italia, illuminating a screen with the
number 999, he said: “It is a great honour for me to be
here today. With this car I made a dream come true. The
dream of every man. I’m glad that I can experience this
very special moment for China. For me Ferrari is the
symbol of success and the brand’s values are an
inspiration for the upcoming goals I want to achieve.”
The bond between Ferrari and China is not exclusively
commercial: just over a year ago the artist Lu Hao
created a unique 599 GTB, painting its livery with a
special technique, reproducing the antique Song
dynasty’s Ge Kiln porcelain. The car was sold at an
auction in Beijing and the money went to a project
supporting young students from Shanghai’s Tsinghua
University over three years. In 2010 Shanghai was the
stage for the first presentation outside of Europe of
the experimental laboratory vehicle, HY-KERS, at the
World Expo.
Numerous fans of the Prancing Horse come to see the
Chinese Grand Prix every year at the local track.
Inaugurated in 2004 by Ferrari, the first ever Formula 1
GP to be held there the same year was won by the team
from Maranello. The Ferrari Owners Club China was
founded in 2009 and everything is set up for the first
Ferrari Challenge series, the company's one-make
Championship, to be held this year in Asia.
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